Debts and deaths

January 31, 2013 12:00 AM

After reading the letter from John Chomko regarding George W. Bush's contributions to the middle class ("A Job Well Done," Jan. 25), I wondered what planet he's from. Let's look at the facts: Bush II passed a middle-class tax cut ... great, but not paid for. He passed prescription benefits for people on Medicare ... great, but not paid for.

Bush II took a half-trillion-dollar surplus (courtesy of Bill Clinton) and turned it into a half-trillion-dollar deficit. Wouldn't that come in handy these days?

No Child Left Behind? Arguably the most egregious example of federal government trashing of state and local rights, ever. And most important, and most unforgivable, how about the deaths of more than 4,400 of our finest young men and women in Iraq, a war based on Mr. Bush's quest to show his father how tough he was -- regardless of any credible intelligence?

The Republican Party has wisely acted as if Bush II never existed. The rest of us should, too.